The dash is a true composite. The steel give it rigidity and mounting points; the foam gives it a stable, supple shape, and the vinyl gives it a stable, defined surface. Take away any one of these and you lose your dash. It is nearly impossible to remove the vinyl because it was put on the foam as a liquid resin and cured in a mold. In the old days, the dash was made from a steel stamping and a sewn Naugahyde or leather covering was glued on. That type of dash could be stripped to bare metal and recovered. I remember the green Naugahyde dash on my folk's '56 Olds 88 was made like that. These modern things are throw-aways or must be modified as you are anticipating. If you want a really classy dash, have a talented upholsterer sew up a fitted leather or good quality vinyl slipcover that you will glue in place.